Lives of Endangered Rhinos to be saved with GPS and Real-Time Data Tracking

Rhino wearable as well as durable technology is the next big thing. From the brink of extension, these species might get saved by GPS and real-time data tracking.

Researcher Paul O'Donoghue recently published an article in the Journal of Applied Ecology. He notes that "an estimated $7-10 billion annually, the global trade in illegal wildlife parts is comparable in economic value to human trafficking and the smuggling of weapons and drugs," and that "anti-poaching rangers often arrive too late at crime scenes to arrest criminals, making poaching a low-risk and high gains enterprise."

Real-time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device combines GPS satellite tracking, a video camera and a heart monitor. The device is created by O'Donoghue. The main function of the system is to surveil the movements and heart rate of rhinos wearing it.

If the heart rate of the rhino rises, the officers at the central control base can check the video camera. The situation can easily be understood. They can head over the emergency site with the help of the GPS.

To extend duration of battery life, the collar is equipped with solar panels. Making the Rhino wear the device is a task. Special care is needed for the purpose. A hole must be drilled into a rhino's tusk for properly inserting the camera and the wearable technology. Horns of the rhino is made of keratin, the same material human nails are made of. The rhino feels no pain unless the hole is not bored into the base of the tusk. Keratin regenerates making the hole impermanent.

Humane Society International UK issued a special press release, sponsored by Protect Rapid. O'Donoghue highlighted the need for an innovative technology that can protect endangered animals like rhinos:

"Currently a rhino is butchered every six hours in Africa, the issues are many, but there's far too much money at stake to believe that legislation alone can make the difference, we had to find a way to protect these animals effectively in the field; the killing has to be stopped."

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Lives of Endangered Rhinos to be saved with GPS and Real-Time Data Tracking